How Rocket Learned to Read

Written and illustrated by Tad Hills

Schwartz & Wade, 2010

$17.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages.

One look at the fluffy puppy holding this book on the title page and you'll be headed to the checkout line.

Hills, author of the beloved Duck & Goose books, returns with a sweet, gentle story about a sheepdog named Rocket who discovers that learning to read can be as fun as chasing sticks.

One day while napping under a tree posted with a sign he can't read, Rocket is startled by an enthusiastic yellow bird who wants to teach him to read.

At first Rocket is reluctant to be in her class and even a little annoyed when the bird sings a story aloud while he's trying to rest. But soon he's following her every word.

The story is "as delicious as the earthy smells of fall," and soon the bird is teaching him the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. Together they spell the sound they hear, his growl, the whoosh of the wind.

But not long after Rocket learns to spell F-A-L-L, the bird announces it's time for her to fly south, then cheerfully reminds him to continue to spell until she returns in the spring.

But how will he practice his letters now? And will his tail ever be as waggy again?

This lovely book shows the power of gentle encouragement and captures the wondrous feeling of seeing letters transformed into words.